OAS member June Dent’s painting ‘Heavy Weighs the Crown’ has been selected for inclusion in this year’s Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.
https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/summer-exhibition-2026
June says: ‘Heavy Weighs the Crown was created quickly and ferociously one afternoon in 2025 in the middle of painting a series of abstract landscapes with the same palette. That day I had seen paintings by Frances Aviva Blane whose series of poignant self-portraits and liberal use of impasto provoked in me an urgent need to draw this boy from imagination. He was from the start doleful and weary with responsibility and the expectations of others. It seemed natural to add a heavy crown and although the title is a misquote from Shakespeare’s Henry IV it conveys the weight of solitude.’
The original painting belongs to a dear friend of June’s who kindly lent it for exhibition in London from now until 23 August. Limited-edition prints are available via June’s website (see below).
More info about June is on our ‘OAS artists’ page https://oxfordartsociety.co.uk/artist/june-dent/
Instagram @JuneDent5
Website https:// junedentart.co.uk
Email Junetdent@yahoo.co.uk